Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent is an action-adventure stealth game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Shanghai. It is the fourth installment in the Splinter Cell franchise. It was developed for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows in 2006. As of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, the generation seven version became the canonical version of Double Agent. Plot Shortly after the events of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Sam Fisher is learning to deal with the loss of his daughter, who died by an accident with a drunk driver. Colonel Irving Lambert gives Fisher the rank of nonofficial cover operative, hoping it will refocus him. Generation Six Fisher and Director Williams of the National Security Agency have a discussion about the events during the JBA Crisis, as the game is told through an entire flashback scene. Fisher and CIA agent Hisham Hamza are being flown to Iceland to investigate suspicious activities at a geothermal plant. However, the mission is aborted, with Lambert activating a two-man Splinter Cell team to destroy the plant. Lambert meets Fisher on the Osprey to give him the news that Sarah Fisher, Sam's daughter, had died in an accident with a drunk driver. Fisher accepts the role as a nonofficial cover operative and the National Security Agency stages multiple bank robberies and killings to set up him to infiltrate a domestic terror organization known as John Brown's Army, abbreviated as JBA. He is sent to Ellsworth Penitentiary in Kansas where he is placed in the same cell block as Jamie Washington, a member of the JBA. With indirect assistance from a Splinter Cell team, Fisher helps Washington escape and is welcomed into the JBA. At the JBA compound in New Orleans, Fisher finds an e-mail written by one of members of the JBA, Cole Yeager, describing his intentions to take over JBA. If he chooses to send this information to the NSA, they will extract Yeager for interrogation; the information can also be sent to Emile Dufraisne, leader of the JBA, who has Yeager killed. Fisher is sent to hijack a train in Grand Central Station, carrying a large sum of money, gold, and jewelry. Lambert pretends to be an arms dealer, under the alias "Wilkes", named after a character from Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, which allows Fisher to have access to his NSA equipment. After the JBA constructs a bomb using Red Mercury, Emile sends Fisher to Cozumel, Mexico to test it by blowing up a cruise ship. If Fisher chooses to sabotage the bomb detonation, Fisher and Enrica Villablanca, Fisher's contact and partner during the mission, are severely beaten. Fisher is then sent on a mission to take over a Russian oil tanker in the Sea of Okhotsk. Two computers on the tanker have an e-mail to Emile from an anonymous sender, both trying to blow Lambert's cover. Emile goes to a meeting in Kinshasa with Alejandro Takfir and Massoud Ibn-Yussif, allies of the JBA, to buy more Red Mercury. He orders Fisher to kill Hisham, the CIA agent from Iceland. If Fisher allows him to be saved, he will receive an adrenaline syringe, effectively saving him from a wound. Fisher uncovers information that sets up a mission for a Splinter Cell team to sabotage a chemical bunker owned by Takfir. An e-mail on Massoud's computer reveals that there is a mole inside the National Security Agency. When Fisher returns to the headquarters, he discovers that Lambert has been taken hostage, and the terrorists are about to send off the Red Mercury. Fisher has to choose whether to place information on the JBA server backing up Lambert's cover or plant information that proves he is with the National Security Agency and Third Echelon. At the end of the mission, Moss is either shown in killing Lambert and Fisher disposing his body in a dumpster or Lambert being beaten, but wounds he can recover from. Regardless of whether or not Lambert's cover is blown, the mission to plant the Red Mercury bombs in New York starts with the JBA discovering that Fisher is actually a spy. Williams authorizes the Fifth Freedom and orders Fisher to kill all the top-ranking members of the JBA while having another Splinter Cell team disarm various Red Mercury bombs in the tanker headed for Los Angeles. Enrica, unable to kill Fisher, helps him by setting off the sprinklers in one room. After Fisher kills Emile and disables the last bomb, Enrica comes looking for him, where she is shot by a Splinter Cell agent. Out of rage, Fisher conceals himself in the snow and slits the agent's throat as he walks by. Fisher then removes the subdermal for his own cochlear implant using his knife. He accuses Williams of murdering Enrica and vows revenge. Generation Seven Sam Fisher and rookie John Hodge are being flown to Iceland to investigate suspicious activities at a geothermal plant. After he averts a missile strike by Islamic terrorists, during which John dies by disobeying orders, he is met by Colonel Irving Lambert aboard the Osprey. Lambert tells Fisher that Sarah had been killed by an accident with a drunk driver. Shortly thereafter, Lambert offers him the rank of a nonofficial cover operative, hoping that it will help him refocus. The NSA stages multiple bank robberies and killings to set up Fisher to infiltrate a domestic terror organization known as John Brown's Army, abbreviated as JBA. Fisher is then placed in Ellsworth Penitentiary in Kansas, where he is placed in the same cell block as Jamie Washington, a member of the JBA. Fisher is welcomed into the JBA after escaping with Washington from prison. At their compound, Emile Dufraisne, the leader of the JBA, gives Sam the order to execute Cole Yeagher, the pilot of the helicopter used to escape the prison. If he misses his shot on purpose, Jamie will kill Cole. Fisher is then sent on a mission to take over a Russian oil tanker in the Sea of Okhotsk. Fiser needs to take over the tanker so that one of the allies of the JBA, Massoud Ibn-Yussif, can use it to deliver one of the bombs. As soon as Fisher is finished, he is quickly flown to the Jin Mao Hotel in Shanghai. CIA agent Hisham Hamza orders him to record a meeting between Emile and a Pakistani nuclear scientist, Dr. Aswat. During the meeting, Aswat sells Emile several kilograms of Red Mercury, explosive material that can detonate with the force of a thermonuclear bomb. With Third Echelon on high alert, Fisher is told to collect a sample from the safe in the meeting room. While he's doing that, Carson Moss radios in and orders him to steal notes from Aswat's hotel room. With both the Red Mercury and Dr. Aswat's notes, the JBA constructs a bomb which they wish to test. Emile sends Fisher to Cozumel, Mexico to blow up a cruise ship. The success of the bomb is determined by Fisher once inside the JBA headquarters a second time. Fisher can choose to either let the bomb detonate, maintaining his cover with the JBA, prevent the explosion by jamming the signal, or framing Enrica by using her disarm code, if it is acquired her office. If the detonation does not prove successful, Emile kills Enrica in a fit of anger. Emile then goes to a meeting in Kinshasa with Alejandro Takfir and Massoud Ibn-Yussif, allies of the JBA. Fisher bugs the meeting and finds out that the three terrorist leaders each have Red Mercury bombs. They plan to destroy Mexico City, Los Angeles and New York City. Emile orders Fisher to kill Hisham, who has fled to the Congolese presidential palace in Kinshasa. Fisher makes his way through Kinshasa, which is an all-out war zone between government forces and rebels. Fisher takes up a position from the top of a radio tower with a sniper rifle. Fisher can either shoot him or spare him. When Fisher returns to the headquarters, he is ordered to shoot Lambert, who was captured sneaking around the complex. Fisher is faced with deciding to either execute Lambert, maintaining his cover, or Jamie Washington, sending the JBA on high alert and revealing Fisher to be a traitor. Enrica, if she is still alive, discovers Fisher's nonofficial cover operative status, but allows him to pass into the labs underneath the headquarters, even giving him his equipment, if not obtained beforehand. When Sam arrives at the labs, he manages to kill Emile and Washington, if he hadn't been killed earlier, and disarms the Red Mercury bomb. Fisher is still claimed to be a fugitive as the SWAT team drops in. There are also three endings, one of which unlocks a bonus mission. If Fisher sides with the National Security Agency entirely, which means saving the cruise ship, CIA agent Hisham and Lambert, or for two out of the three choices, with a National Security Agency trust level above thirty-three percent, Fisher escapes and boards a boat that has a Red Mercury bomb loaded on, with Carson Moss. Moss can be subdued and the bomb defused. Fisher escapes seconds before the boat is destroyed by the police that had been chasing him from the JBA headquarters. If Fisher's trust level is below 33% and he's only saved one or two of the three choices, he is captured by the SWAT team and charged with murder and conspiracy. Before Fisher's trial begins, he escapes, effectively labeling him as a fugitive. If Fisher's trust level is below 33% and does not save any, he is initially captured by the SWAT team, but escapes using a smoke grenade. Gameplay As part of both the National Security Agency and John Brown's Army, Fisher must complete objectives set by both to gain both their trust. Decisions become increasingly more difficult as the game progresses, having more severe consequences. The overall gameplay remains much unchanged from the past Splinter Cell titles. In the generation six version, there is one trust meter. As objectives for the JBA are completed, the meter moves slightly more to the left, depending on the severity of the objective. As objectives for the National Security Agency are completed, the meter moves more to the right, depending on the severity of the objective. If Fisher gains full trust on either side, the mission is over and players are given a game over. However, having more trust with either side awards Fisher with better equipment. In the generation seven version, there are two trust meters, one for the JBA and one for the National Security Agency. Fisher must keep both meters up, though certain objectives that cause one meter to rise, cause the other to fall. If Fisher loses all trust with either the JBA or the National Security Agency, the mission is over and players are given a game over. The generation seven version also includes a different light meter than past titles. It is much more simpler, having red for detected, yellow for exposed and green for hidden. Reception The United Kingdom, American, and Australian versions of the Official Xbox Magazine gave the Xbox 360 edition of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent a 9 out of 10. The UK magazine said that it was "rupturing quality and oozing tension", calling it "stealth gaming of the highest calibre, full of imagination and augmented by an excellent two-way Trust system that leaves you pondering every choice you make and then having to deal with the consequences." The UK OXM also gave the PlayStation 2 version an 8 out of 10. IGN gave the Xbox and Xbox 360 version of Double Agent an "Outstanding" 9.0 out of 10, the PlayStation 2 version an 8.7, the Windows version a 9.0, the Wii version a 5.5 for poor graphics and motion sensing, and the PlayStation 3 version a 7.9 for degraded particle effects. TeamXbox.com rated it 9.1 out of 10, USA Today 9 out of 10, GameTrailers.com 8.9 out of 10, and 1Up.com a "Dynamite" 8 out of 10. Nintendo Power gave the GCN version 7.2 out of 10 and the Wii version 6.0 out of 10. GameSpot reviewed each version separately, giving the Xbox and Xbox 360 version a "Great" 8.5, the Windows version a "Great" 8.0 noting "Some issues with stability and graphical performance", the PlayStation 2 version a "Great" 8.2, the PlayStation 3 version a "Great" 8.0, the Wii version a "Fair" 6.2, and the Gamecube version a "Fair" 6.7. The major differences between them are in the online multiplayer, graphics and the controls. GameSpy gave the Windows version 2.5 out of 5 stars, citing many bugs, inconsistent graphics, and high system requirements. Despite all the improvements, the "Splinter Cell Versus community" was not very enthusiastic about Double Agent Versus mode, preferring the previous cooperative gameplay that Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory offered. Hyper's Dylan Burns commends the game for its great looks, "moral ramifications and branching objectives". However, he criticises it for the "same old trial and error gameplay, it's over too quickly". Category:Games by Ubisoft Category:Splinter Cell series Category:Games released on the Xbox Category:Games released on the PlayStation 2 Category:Games released on the PlayStation 3 Category:Games released on the Nintendo GameCube Category:Games released on the Wii Category:Games released for PC Category:Games released for Mac Category:Games released in 2006 Category:Games that are rated M